Ayodhya, described and celebrated over the centuries as the land of milk and honey and supreme justice and equality, has also been a witness to conflict and separation.

A great kingdom named Kosala, a joyous and a vast one well flourishing with money and cereals, is lavishly situated on the riverbanks of Sarayu….That city shines forth with well-laid great royal highways that are always wet with water, and with flowers strewn on them….As an improver of the great kingdom Dasharath the king made her as his abode…That city is surrounded with gateways and archways; the front yards of buildings are well laid; it lodges all kinds of machinery, weaponry and craftsmen ….Buildings are ornamentally studded with precious gems, and with such multi-storied sky scrapers she is adorned, and filled with them, she is like Amaravati, the capital of Indra… (Bal Kaand, Valmiki Ramayana)

Ayodhya, described and celebrated over the centuries as the land of milk and honey and supreme justice and equality, has also been a witness to conflict and separation. The pain of Ram’s exile, the untimely death of Dasharath in sorrow, the unchaste aspersions of a laundry man, the second exile of Sita and her finally finding peace once again in the womb her Mother Earth.

In the 21st century, more than nine lakh years after Ram is believed to have become vileen (immersed) in the Sarayu along with the citizens of his kingdom, the moot character of the city remains unchanged. Ayodhya is hallowed but still tightly stricken in discord. The core remains the Ram Janmabhoomi. The sacrosanct area where the Hindus believe Lord Ram was born and Muslims claim to be the site of the Babri Mosque.

Proposed plan of Ram Mandir of Ayodhya | Pic Credit: Times Now

Approaching Ram Janmabhoomi through a grid of long over-ground tunnel of steel and three security checks, slogans fill the air about Ram Lalla’s victory. The idols at the moment have been installed in a makeshift tent. That it is about faith and reclamation of historical past is evident.

And those fighting the case for a Ram Temple are already in preparedness – in fact an area in Ayodhya is known as Karsevapuram, denoting work for construction for a magnificent temple. I drive past the enclosed gates of a huge work space covered with tin sheds. Most of the material, slabs and pillars are ready, engraved and numbered. They now silently await their eventual destiny.

Hindus living in a majoritarian Hindu state and with a government in power that has assumed Hindu sympathies, people feel what better time could be than now to sew wounds inflicted by invaders on their culture.

Deeply entrenched in the milieu of Ayodhya is its Muslim community. They are in minority but rightful and equal citizens. Locals that one meets in markets, colonies or even taxi drivers claim they have peacefully co-existed; any riots ever were triggered by truck full of goons who were ferried-in. Residents understand that Ayodhya remains central to the Hindu sentiment prevailing in the country but for them at least, there are more pressing issues than faith. These relate with day to day survival, making ends meet, livelihood and the question of future of their children.

Without a doubt, I found Ayodhya to be one of the most undeveloped major pilgrimage centres, lacking basic infrastructure (leave alone wi-fi), hotels, tourism paraphernalia, educational institutes or economic opportunity. “But where is the land,” locals say out aloud, “Where will new buildings come up?” Most of the land is in the grip of mutts, trusts and temple, many of which are held by ‘outsiders’ or are disputed. That is why a proposal of New Ayodhya has been suggested.

Bharat Gufa in Ayodhya and its entrance | Pic Credit: Akrita Reyar

As of now, people run small shops e-rickshaws or taxis or work in dhabas or as priests and workers in the over 15,000 temples in the city. A local boy who is showing me around says that “only four things of the past glory remain – the land of Ayodhya, the Sarayu, Hanuman ji and our faith”. It’s a deeply touching statement but communicated in a way that you instantly know it was heartfelt. It depicts a deep sense of loss.

In the dying hours of the evening, I stand by the Sarayu and wonder how much water would have flowed down since Ram did his daily ablutions at its ghats. Little children from visibly poor families scramble around for prospective customers to sell flowers and lamps that can be released in the water as obeisance.

The Ram ki Paidi (Pauri) has witnessed a multi-crore renovation; it is peaceful and beautifully lit but the water here looks stagnant. On the opposite side is the main Shiva temple of the city called Nageshwarnath, believed to have been established by Lord Ram’s son Kush.
Hanuman ji, whom Lord Ram had handed over his kingdom, before piercing the curtain to the other world, still resides at the famous Hanuman Garhi, considered today as a siddha peeth. The shrine stands atop a slightly elevated area, reached by climbing a flight of stairs and is abuzz with activity with multiple shops of sweetmeats and colourful religious trinkets.

I walk up from the Garhi to ‘Kanak Bhavan’ which, as per legend, was once encased in gold and was gifted to Sita as Muh Dikhai. It is an oasis of peace in Ayodhya. Built like a haveli, it is vibrating with sadhana (devotion), kirtan (congregational singing) and deep calm, aptly representing Sita, whose quiet dignity stands out amidst a life full of tumult. A little further out from the city is Nandigram, where a small cave stands and is the central representation of Bharat, who stayed here as an ascetic during Lord Ram’s exile.

Kanak Bhavan in Ayodhya | Pic Credit: Akrita Reyar

Ayodhya, the way we know it today, was believed to have been erased from geographical memory, till King Vikramaditya queried about it from his Guru who was teaching him holy texts with references of Ayodhya in it. The Guru is supposed to have given him some directional indication and Vikramaditya embarked on a journey of discovery. Tired after long travel hours, he was bathing in the Sarayu one day when he beheld a strange celestial scene. Demigods were all descending into the river and taking dips in turns. It is they who are supposed to have confirmed to Vikramaditya that this was indeed the same Sarayu and Ayodhya where Ram reigned and they had all appeared that particular day as it was Ram Navami. Delighted at his happenstance, the great emperor Vikramaditya is supposed to begun the process of identification and commemoration of all sites and temples associated with the Ramayana.

Saryu captured on the lens from the ghat | Pic Credit: Akrita Reyar

Since then, Ayodhya has faced invasion and distraught phases of history. The holiness of town has withstood the vagaries of times but it remains wedged in conflicting faiths that refuse to reconcile.

From what it appears to me today, Ayodhya yearns for the rehabilitation of its ancient splendour but the residents pine even more for the Ram Rajya that has filled the political and social mindspace – they want to partake at least some fragments of the amenities and opportunities that have been so prolifically described. It is for development that they ask, even as a tug of war continues for justice and incompatible claims.

As has been in past intervening years since Valmiki wrote the Ramayana, and also in the life of Lord Ram himself, at the end it seems exertion with fate appears to be in the lot of Ayodhya.

The views expressed by the author are personal and may not in any way represent those of Times Network.

Ayodhya from Ground Zero: At crossroads of time and destiny Description:Ayodhya, described and celebrated over the centuries as the land of milk and honey and supreme justice and equality, has also been a witness to conflict and separation. Akrita Reyar